Clutch for hoisting-engines.



G. P. WERN.

CLUTCH FOR HOISTING ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.29, 1913.

Patented May 4, 1915.

slll ll ll! iill lllllllllll WITNESSES INVENTOR. fl/m A TTORNE Y.

OFFICE.

GUSTAV PEBS. WEEK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLUTCH FQR HOISTING-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May {1, 1915.

Application filed April 29, 1913. Serial N0. 764,369.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV P. WERN, a. citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, United States ofAmerica, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutchesfor Hoisting-Engines, of which the' following is a specification.

The present invention has reference to friction clutches pf the conicaltype, wherein two membersmounted on the same shaft, one loose and theother fixed, are brought together and rotated simultaneously byfrictional contact.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improvedconstruction for the clutch members, which will automatically set upcurrents of air passing over both their inner and outer surfaces, aswell as through them, whenever either or both of the members are beingrevolved, thereby producing self-ventilation of the clutch and coolingits component parts, irrespective of the and friction imposed upon thecooperating elements under any and all conditions of manipulation.

A further object is to produce a springactuated repelling mechanismadapted to separate the clutch members, which will be powerful inoperation and possessed of greater flexibility than has hitherto beenavailable.

The drawing hereto annexed illustrates a preferred form of theinvention. Like parts in the several views are given the same referencenumerals. v

Figure 1 is a side view, showing one-half of the clutch in section, fromline 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1, onehalf of the clutchbeing shown in section along the line 2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4,

are partial sections of Fig. 2, respectively taken on the lines 3-3 and22 thereof, ilhmrating the conformation of parts at the placesindicated.

Referring specifically to the sa d figures, the numerals 1 and 2represent supports provided with suitable bearings for a rotary shaft 3journaled therein. The clutch proper consists of two disk-shaped,conical members 8 and 9, peripherally flanged at 10 and 11, to fit onewithin the other. The flange 10 of the disk or member 8 is made flaring,and the flange 11 of the dlsk or member 9 tapering, as shown in Fig. 1,so as to adapt the latter for entrance Into the former and provideoppositely-inclined surfaces for gradual interengagement by frictionalcontact, in the well-known manner. The disk 8 has a hub 12, keyed on theshaft 7, as at 13, whereby this member of the clutch is fixed to theshaft and caused to revolve therewith at the same rate of speed. On theother hand, the disk 9 is intended to be unaffected normally by therotation of the shaft, but may be connected with any rotatablemechanical element upon which the power of the clutch is meant to beexerted. In the present embodiment of the invention, the disk 9 is madepart of and integral with a cable winding drum 14.

As shown, the bore of the aforesaid drum is preferably lined throughoutwith a bushing 15, fitted loose on the shaft 7, to render the drumindependent of the latter v and allow it a slight longitudinal movementthereon, sufficient to eflect a clearance between the contactingsurfaces of the flanges 10 and 11 of the disks 8 and 9, when it isdesired that these two clutch-members should be disengaged, as shown in-Fig. 1. A clutch-operating mechanism, including a collar 16, and jointedarms 17 and 18 for sliding it .on the shaft against the outer end of thedrum, is provided to cause the engagement of the said surfaces wheneverrequired. This mechanism is specifically described and claimed in a.companion application filed herewith, and it is not necessary to setforth its structural characteristics in detail in the resentapplication. The mechanism is brac eted upon the support 5 and isactuated by right and left screws 19 and 20, fixed upon a common axisand respectively engaging the separated ends of the arms 17 and 18.These ends of the arms are spread apart or drawn toward each other byturning the screws one way or the other, and consequently operate eitherto force the sliding collar 16 against the outer .end of the drum orretract it therefrom. The turning of the screws may be eifected by alever or handle-bar having an eye or a fork at one end, as indicated at21,

In order to keep the clutch members apart in their inoperativepositions, the fixed member 8 is eq-ulpped with a repelling mechanism ofnovel construction designed to act upon the loose member 9. Thisrepelling mechcomprises a bell-crank lever 22, and a compression-spring23 located in the space inclosed by the overlapping flanges 10 and 11 ofthe clutch members. The bell-crank lever is fulcrumed on a pivot-pin 24,held in a pair of lugs 25, projecting from the hub 12 of the disk 8. Onearm of the lever 22 abuts against a ring 26, which adjoins and bearsupon a flange 27 on the inner end of the bushing 15. The other arm ofthe bellcrank lever 22 is engaged by a compressionring 23 whichpreferably is coiled around a threaded rod 28, held at one end in thehub 12 at its other end by a block 29, at-

tached to the disk 8. The spring 23, therefore, is located radially withrelation to the disk and perpendicular to the shaft 3. This arrangement,it will be observed, afi'ords more room for the spring and makespossible .the use of a spring of increased length in a given spacebetweendisks and, as a consequence, insures greater flexibility. Theprovision of the bell-crank form of lever makes it possible to operatethe clutch with one instead of a plurality of springs, as the combinedpower and purchase of the lever and Spree the intended ob ect ofseparating, or keeping separate, the two clutch members, as may berequired in practice.

For the purpose of efi'ecting the ventila- 30 is conveniently madedouble that in the series 31, owing to the distance between theirrespective circles. I

Two sets of ribs 34: and '35, of difierent lengths are also formed orprovided on the external surface of the disk 8. The longerribs 34:extend from the hub 12 outwardly to the edge of the disk 8, and thenceover and out to the rim of the flange 10. The shorter ribs 35start frompoints intermediate of the ribs 34 but likewise reach out to the disksedge and to the fianges margin beyond. At their inner ends, the saidribs 34 project radially'from the hub 12 be tween the several orifices31 of the inner series, but as they pass them on one side the ribs 34are inclined in, along another, ad-

jacent side of the orifices 31, and thence are brought out to the outerseries of orifices 30 on lines that are tangential to an imaginarycircle drawn concentric with the hub 12 and shaft 7, to which the hub 12is keyed. Two orifices, one in the series 30 and the other in the series31, are thus positioned on one side of each rib 34 and within the bendof each. Each rib 34 is also inclined laterallyor edgewise over the twoorifices 30 and 31 is ample ordinarily to accomplish I by the side ofwhich it extends. The ribs 35 are placed similarly to the bent portionsof the ribs 34 and likewise inclined to one side, but they pass by onlythe intermediate orifices of the outer series 31 which are not reachedby the longer ribs. The shorter ribs are provided for the latter-namedorifices and divide, into substantially equal parts, the spacesintervening between the other orifices in the same series.

The apertures 32 and 33, hereinbefore mentioned, are disposed also intwo series, circularly and concentrically, the outer series 32 occurringin the-disk-9, and the inner series33 in the inner end of the drum 14,

a similar series being provided in the outer.

wall 38. The drum 14 is hollow, as indicated at .36 in Fig. 1,consisting of a cylindrical shell supported from a central sleeve 37 byend walls 38 and 39 and intermediate braces 40 and 40'. The outer wall38 and the inner wall 39 is thickened and beveled, as at 4:1 in Fig. 4:,on the side of the outer series of inclined edge of the ribs 34:, 35, asthe same appearin Fig. 2. The inner series 0f apertures 33, in the wall39, are beveled similarly in the. same direction, as shown at 42 in Fig.3.

It Wlll now be understood that by revolving the shaft 7 and disk 8thereon in the direction in which the ribs 34 and 35 are bent (that isto say, contra-clockwise with relation to Fig. 2), a considerablepercentage of y the air caught by and between the inclined,

bent-in portions of the said'ribs will naturally be'directed centerwardalong these ribs and be forced and also sucked in through the apertures32 therein which is nearest to the two series of orifices 30 and 31,causing strong currents of air to pass between the disks 8 and 9 throughthe apertures 32 in the latter disk and into the hollow drum by way ofthe apertures 33, and also between the lapped'fianges 10 and 11,whenever. they are released one from the other. Part of this air isreflected backward by the closed end of the drum, and thereupon sets upa counter-current in the opposite direction. This agitation of the airis constant so long as the shaft is being revolved, whether the hoistingdrum be in or out of clutch, and

exerts a most beneficial action, particularly in keeping theclutch-members cool at all times, regardless of the amount of frictionto whichtheir contacting surfaces are subjected. v

What I claim is:

1. In a clutch, the combination of two members slidable one toward theother, a

bell-crank lever carried by one member adapted to press normally againstthe other member, and a radially disposed spring designed to actuatesaid bell-crank lever.

2. In a clutch, the combination of a relatively fixed rotary member, aloose member revoluhle by frictional contact therewith, county and Stateof New York, this 12th and a spring-actuated bell-crank lever carday ofJune, 1912.

ried by the rotary member and abutting GUST. PERS. WERN. against theloose member, said lever operat-v Witnesses: 5 ing normally to keep saidmembers separate. LEWIS J. DOOLITTLE,

Signed at New York city, N. Y., in the LUELLA F. LITTLE.

